Punchlines ripped from the headlines

Newt Gingrich on "Leno": Shutdown "Not a Crisis"

Gingrich was the House Speaker during the last government shutdown in 1995-1996 that lasted 21 days and spoke of his experiences negotiating with former President Bill Clinton trying to hash out a deal

The 1st Government Shutdown in 17 Years

Gingrich was the House Speaker during the last government shutdown in 1995-1996 that lasted 21 days and spoke of his experiences negotiating with former President Bill Clinton trying to hash out a deal.

Those talks prompted several discussions between the two, which ended in deals that made compromises – something that apparently isn't happening between President Barack Obama and the current House Speaker John Boehner.

Gingrich was under the impression that the president, in his talks with Boehner, outright refused to negotiate with the House speaker.

"It passed both houses, the Supreme Court said yes, it’s legitimate, it’s now a law," said Leno of the health care reform. "It’s like playing a football game. People say we don’t like the outcome, let’s play again."

As for the hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers, Gingrich said he believed that once the impasse is over, those workers would receive retroactive pay.

And he also made a suggestion to the president, vice president and members of the House and Senate concerning their guaranteed salaries during the government shutdown.

"As long as you have this deadlock, you ought to give your salaries to charity. I think that would be a very reasonable interim step," he said.